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March 16, 2016

The Girl Scout Way - Brownie Legacy

Brownie Badge Work

The Girl Scout Way is a badge that can be earned at every level, Brownie and up. This post is dedicated to earning it at the brownie level. Brownies are in 2nd and 3rd grade, and ready to take the world by storm.

Badge Requirements

Girl Scout Way Legacy Patch

Sing Everywhere

Celebrate Juliette Low's birthday

Share sisterhood

Leave a place better than you found it

GS traditions

These requirements do not need to be done all at once, or even all in a row. There is a great spreadsheet that will help track these badge requirements if you choose to space them out. You can find the spreadsheet here. The spreadsheet also gives some more great ideas for ways to meet the requirements. You can also edit the entries if you choose to do something different.

1. Sing Everywhere - Brownies are at a great age for this one - they love songs and singing! Help your girls learn 3 new songs, then encourage them to sing them together at the end of the meeting, after learning them. Below are three great songs. Click on the link to view the lyrics and a YouTube video.

A great way to celebrate Juliette Low's birthday *ANYTIME* (even outside the month of October) is with SWAPS! SWAPS are a small token of friendship that you exchange with another troop, traditionally while travelling, but more recently troops are connecting with other troops in their council, state, country, or even another country by way of social media. You can convene with troop leaders all over the US in our facebook group here! SWAPS stands for Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere.

One of my favorites, in honor of Juliette Low's birthday, is a cupcake SWAPS. Below I will list how we make them.Supplies:

Scissors

Fuzzy Balls

Elmer's Glue

Hot Glue Gun

Small Beads (seed)

Safety Pins

Mini Cupcake Liners

Cardstock

Candles

1. Start with the mini cupcake liner, and glue a fuzzy ball inside of it.

2. Spread glue on the top of the fuzzy ball, and sprinkle beads on it. The glue will dry clear, and the sprinkles will look like jimmies on the cupcake.

3. Cut down candle to the appropriate length, and glue it to the top of the fuzzy ball. (I recommend using the glue gun for this, since its a sturdier glue.)4. From the cardstock, cut a tag for your SWAPS. I prefer this shape:

5. Write Happy Birthday on the square side of the tag.

6. Glue the bottom of the cupcake to the side near the hole, and slip the safety pin in the hole.

3. Share Sisterhood

One of the coolest ways to share in sisterhood with our girl scout sisters (in my opinion) is the Eternal Flame ceremony. This is a ceremony that started with the original group of girl scouts, as they disbanded, to remind them what being a girl scout is all about.

Supplies:

Candles (One for each girl, with the girl scout law tied to it with a ribbon)

Lighter/Match

Water bucket - filled with water (*Just in case!*)

Leader #1: Long ago, a special ceremony was formed. Juliette Low wanted her original girls to carry a special spark with them as their Scouting group broke up. Some from the troop were moving away, working to help their families, or wanted to help a group of girls a little younger than themselves. But whatever their reasons, Juliette knew no other group would ever be quite the same.

Leader #2: As the girls stood in a circle holding candles (they had made), Juliette knew what spark it was she wanted to pass on. She lit her candle & spoke.

Leader #1: With this candle, I give you each something very special to pass on. As I light the candle on my right, I ask each of you to light the candle to your right & pass it on. I want you to carry this thought with you wherever you go. This is the ETERNAL FLAME for Girl Scouts. Each of you, after having a lit candle before you, will repeat the Girl Scout Promise with me, then pause & recall a few of the things we have done together as a group. I will hold my candle up, and as I do so, you will all raise yours and we will blow them out together. Before we separate from our circle, I want to ask you to keep this candle as a very special candle. It is not to be used for any purpose but passing on the ETERNAL FLAME. You may use it in other Girl Scout ceremonies, such as camps, encampments, campfires, bridging or court of awards ceremonies. I’m glad we were able to start a special tradition based on our ETERNAL FLAME.

4. Leave a place better than you found it

This is something we practice at every meeting. Its recited often, and is generally the first and last thing I say at every meeting. We meet at the girl's school, and so it's very important that we leave the space better than we found it. However, for this requirement, a hike would also work. Head to a local state park for a hike and picnic. As you hike through the woods, remind the girls that girl scouts leave places better than they found it. Bring a trash bag to pick up any litter you find along your way, and have the girls be cognizant about picking everything up after lunch. This is an easy concept for the the girls to understand, and it sticks - my little lady picks up litter everywhere we go, reciting, girl scouts leave places better than they found it!

5. GS traditions

For the Girl Scout traditions requirement, you can do any tradition you'd like. I choose to do one of the most useful traditions - making a Sit-Upon. I have my Sit-Upon from when I was a brownie girl scout, and I hope my daughter keeps her just as long. They are very useful, and simple to make - which is a win win. Supplies: